


Destiny (Un)fulfilled

by merlin_the_dragonlord



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 21:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5717662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlin_the_dragonlord/pseuds/merlin_the_dragonlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin waited for the day that his timer hit 0:00:00. An unexpected twist of fate brought that moment a month early. </p><p>Arthur dreaded the day that his timer hit 0:00:00. His sacrifice ensured that he wouldn't have to worry anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Destiny (Un)fulfilled

_838:30:12_ Those were the numbers that caught Merlin’s wrist when he turned his hand over to hand the change to the cashier. For the fifth time that day, he thought about the moment he would meet his soul mate.

It was strange, knowing that his soulmate was the most handsome man he had ever seen in his life, knowing that he loved strawberries and pancakes, and knowing that they would adopt and raise two kids together, but not knowing a name. Ever since his 18th birthday, when the dreams started, Merlin had obsessed over this life.

Gwen always told him that this fixation was unhealthy, but who was she to talk? She met Lancelot almost a year after she turned 18. As far as Merlin was concerned, she had the perfect life already. Married and happy, with a child on its way. Meanwhile, he was stuck still _dreaming_. He hated the pitying looks of others when they realized that his timer was still going. Giddily, he thought of the moment that his timer would hit 0:00:00. He wondered how he would first meet this mysterious blond. His dreams never showed their initial meeting either. According to his calculations, they would meet around 5:30 PM, so he had imagined that maybe they would meet in a restaurant. He hummed lightly as he contemplated names for their future children. 

* * *

Miles away, Arthur Pendragon was on a recon mission in Beijing. This particular mission required him sitting outside a dingy apartment in a rental car, stuck with his partner, Gwaine Knight. It was 3 AM and both of them were exhausted, having been stuck in that particular location for almost 10 hours.

“Tell me about your soulmate, princess.” Gwaine spoke after almost half an hour of silence. Arthur wished that it had remained as such. This was a topic that he did not dwell upon. In fact, he resented the very notion that someone was pre-destined for him made his stomach curl in on itself. But it didn’t matter. He had no choice in this matter. Instead, he always wore a wristwatch to cover the timer.

“There’s nothing to tell.” Arthur replied curtly.

“Oh, come on.” Gwaine shifted so he could completely face Arthur. “At least tell me what they look like.”

“I don’t remember.”

“After six years of dreams, you don’t remember what your soulmate looks like?” His tone was amused. That bloody idiot _knew_ Arthur was lying.

“Just leave it alone, Gwaine.” That practically invited Gwaine to start badgering him, but Arthur tuned him out, choosing to use the thermal-signature binoculars to look into the apartment of their target. Unfortunately, Alator was still there and he had no escape from this conversation.

Gwaine was now going on about how meeting Percival was the best moment of his life and how nothing seems to matter now. It was all so _cliché_.

“The first time we met, it was magical. I had been running late to work that morning…” Arthur tuned him out again. He had heard this story several times- lived it, in fact. Gwaine had come in to the agency that morning, literally with stars in his eyes. It had been a rather large inconvenience for Arthur, as his partner was utterly useless that day, more so than normal.

“Gwaine, shhh.” The front door of the apartment building opened and instinctively, the two ducked down. Arthur turned the thermal binoculars back one and glanced at the figure that just stepped out of the building. Well, the size matched the perp’s. He nodded at Gwaine and he peered up a little to glance at the person. Arthur saw the thumbs up and prepared to leap into action to follow Alator, but then suddenly, there was an explosion across the street and bright flames lit up the street like fireworks. _Fuck_. 

* * *

_The kitchen was classy. Much classier than any Merlin had ever seen. The marbled countertops were clear of clutter and all of the pots and pans were hanging from a rack in neat rows. There was a bouquet of forget-me-nots in a vase on the black wood table, illuminated by the sunlight streaming in from the window. He padded forward, feet light on the linoleum floor and looked around. A tall blond male stood at the stove, pouring pancake batter into a pan. Merlin felt a smile spread across his face as he took in his soulmate. He was wearing an old football T-shirt and pajama pants, feet bare, and his normally immaculate hair was mussed, as if he had just woken._

_Merlin slipped up behind the blond and wrapped his arms around the broad waist. He buried his face in the nape of his neck and inhaled. He thought that he could smell pine and sunshine, if sunshine had a smell._

_“Morning, love. Sleep well?” He registered the words but there was no sound. But it didn’t matter. He was with his soulmate. That was enough for him._

_He nodded and stepped back. If he tried hard enough, he could smell pancakes and hear the sizzle of the batter in the pan._

_The blond held out a hand and Merlin took it without hesitation. He found himself pressed up against the other male. “Let’s dance.”_

_Silence filled the room as they twirled around the kitchen and Merlin felt unbearably happy. This is what his future was meant to be. All of a sudden, there was a sharp shock through his body, as if he had just been tasered. He could practically sense the shift in reality and knew that something was wrong. This had never happened before. Merlin felt the floor under him drop and he began falling. That’s when everything went black._

He jolted upwards with a gasp. Breathing hard, he brought his hands up to his face. “What the hell…” That had never happened before in one of his dreams. Never before had it been so rudely interrupted like that and his blood went cold. An interrupted soul mate vision only meant one thing. Shakily, he extended his arm in front of him and squinted to see the numbers, using the illumination his alarm clock provided. There were several zeroes and his heart dropped. That prompted him to throw his covers back and reach for the light. He blinked a few times and looked at the numbers again. _0:00:00_.

He sat there in shock, registering that he was trembling. His left hand wrapped around his right wrist and he leaned forward, trying to calm his breathing. His head pounded loudly in time with his heartbeat as panic clawed to the surface. “What.” There was no way this was happening. He _knew_ what this meant. His soul mate was… _They had been so close, damn it._ Disbelief filled him as he continued to shake and shiver. It was cold. Everything was cold. 

* * *

 _Goddammit. No one had told them that there were multiple people making attempts on Alator's life._ “Fucking Christ.” Arthur had to agree with Gwaine on this one. They had taken cover behind their car, which was quickly becoming riddled with bullets. “Arthur, what do we do?” Gwaine hissed out, reloading his gun with a new cartridge.

Arthur turned to peer over the hood of the car but yanked back down when a bullet shattered the window shield. “Text Morgana for an extraction.” He did the mental math. The nearest team was about five minutes away. The car would _maybe_ hold out for another three, at most as an effective shield. The chances of them getting out alive… 40%. The chances of one of them getting out alive… 70%. Arthur glanced over at Gwaine, who was frowning down at his phone. “Ten minutes.” He mumbled, shoving his phone into his pocket.

Arthur made his decision. “Gwaine, listen to me. Stay here. I’ll draw them off.”

His partner looked at him in shock and opened his mouth, but Arthur shook his head quickly, speaking before Gwaine could. “Listen to me! You have Percival to think about.” At the name of his soulmate, his mouth snapped shut. The look of worry remained. Arthur felt the bullets start to ricochet through the car and knew his estimate of three minutes had been foolhardy.

He gave a wry smile to Gwaine. “You were a good partner.” Before Gwaine could reach out and yank Arthur’s arm down, he stood and began to shoot while running. If he was going to go like this, he’d take as many of those bastards as he could.

After the gun stopped working, he tossed it aside and focused on sprinting. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, because _of course_ , he wasn’t wearing a bulletproof vest. His head collided with the concrete and he winced as more pain blossomed behind his eyes. A shadow fell over him and he shut his eyes. He pictured the face of his supposedly destined soulmate. _I’m sorry._

* * *

“I don’t… _understand_.” Merlin waved his hand wildly, eyes wide. “This has never happened before!” He stared down at his wrist, not wanting to see the pity in Gwen’s eyes. There was only one reason for a soulmate timer to reset to zero.

“Merlin…” He knew that she knew that he knew. He normally would have appreciated her tact, but this time… He wanted a different answer. He wanted assurance that maybe it wasn’t all that it seemed, that maybe there was just a glitch in the system, _that his soulmate was not dead._ “I don’t know what to tell you, sweetheart.” But of course, false hope would have just been more painful in the end.

“We were so close.” He said mournfully. “One month.” The tears began to gather around his eyes. From the time that he was 18, he had been looking so forward to meeting the man of his dreams. _Six years._ He had waited _six years._

“I’m sorry, love.” Gwen drew him into a hug and that’s when he let the tears fall. The numbers _0:00:00_ flashed briefly.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this to be longer, but wasn't sure how I could draw this out any longer. 
> 
> If it wasn't clear, in this AU, after someone turns 18, they begin to dream about possible futures with their soulmates, but they never actually find out their soulmate's name. 
> 
> My tumblr is [here](http://merlin-the-dragonlord.tumblr.com/) (merlin-the-dragonlord) and my friend and I run a Merlin fic rec blog [here](http://merlinreadsalot.tumblr.com/) (merlinreadsalot) if you're bored.


End file.
